Elon Musk Responds After Oregon DMV Admits To Registering Hundreds Of Non-Citizens To Vote
On Saturday morning, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk responded to reports that Oregon had registered more than 300 non-citizens to vote in their state.
On Friday, outlet OregonLive posted an article regarding the controversy, writing that the Oregon DMV “mistakenly registered at least 306 non-citizens as voters since 2021.”
Oregon law does not permit non-citizens to vote in local elections, and federal law prohibits them from voting at a national level. However, Oregon has allowed non-citizens to obtain driver’s licenses since 2019. Kevin Glenn, Spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Transportation, said that most individuals are automatically registered to vote when they obtain a license or ID, which contributed to the mistake.
Musk commented on the report after it was reposted by journalist Andy Ngo, labeling it “Illegal voter registration in Oregon.”
“The Oregon DMV has admitted to registering at least hundreds of non-citizens to vote since at least 2021 due to errors in its auto voter registration system,” Ngo wrote. “Additionally, every registered voter is sent ballots by mail. The audit is still ongoing and more illegal registrations are expected to be found.”
Glenn noted that only an initial analysis has occurred, and added that only two of those registered voters have cast a ballot in any election since 2021. DMV Administrator Amy Joyce confirmed that her office “is continuing to check for any potential errors and they will likely find more instances of the DMV allowing non-citizens to register to vote,” OregonLive posted.
Glenn noted that the problem was “basically a data entry issue,” outlining that when a DMV worker enters information about a person, they can incorrectly state that the person has a U.S. birth certificate or passport when they do not.
“The [Oregon Secretary of State] defends the auto voter registration system. The DMV said before that it was impossible for noncitizens to be registered in its system,” Ngo continued. “Meanwhile, leftists and liberals responding to the revelation say the numbers are so small out of 3m registered voters that it doesn’t matter and shouldn’t matter anyway. Others argue for noncitizens to be given voting rights.”
Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade said that the affected individuals“will be notified by mail that they will not receive a ballot unless they demonstrate that they are eligible to vote.”
“While this error is regrettable, the secretary and the Elections Division stand by automatic voter registration and its many benefits,” Griffin-Valade added in the statement, per OregonLive.
Similarly, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D), said that she had been briefed on the issue and had already directed the DMV to resolve it.
“The error in data entry which may have affected the voter eligibility of some Oregonian’s voter registration was discovered because the Oregon DMV and the secretary of state were doing their due diligence ahead of the 2024 election,” Kotek said. “My office will continue to closely monitor the situation. This situation will not impact the 2024 election in any way.”
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